Judge denies 'jury misconduct' motion in Corbett trial

Superior Court Judge David Lee decided Friday to deny a motion citing jury misconduct in the trial involving the murder of Irish businessman Jason Corbett, according to the Winston-Salem Journal.

On Aug. 9, a jury found Molly Corbett and her father, Thomas Martens, guilty of second degree murder. Both were sentenced to between 20 and 25 years in prison by Lee.

Jason Corbett, Molly Corbett’s husband, died Aug. 2, 2015. Davidson County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a report that day of an assault at the Corbetts’ home at Panther Creek Court in Wallburg. Martens, a 67-year-old retired FBI agent who was visiting the Corbetts with his wife, told authorities he was awakened by an argument between his daughter and son-in-law and went to their bedroom with a baseball bat, where he found Jason Corbett attacking his daughter.

Martens and Molly Corbett claimed Jason Corbett was choking Molly Corbett and threatening to kill her, and they acted in self defense. Investigators did not believe that explanation. Authorities said Jason Corbett was planning to leave Molly Corbett — his second wife and former nanny to his children — and return to his home country of Ireland. Authorities allege Molly Corbett and Martens beat Jason Corbett to death with the baseball bat and a brick paving stone.

The defense’s motion, filed Aug. 16 by David Freedman and Walter Holton, argued that post-trial, voluntary media interviews and social media posts by the jurors showed misconduct throughout the trial that violated North Carolina law and Constitutional protection.

During interviews, the document stated that Tom Aamland, the jury's foreperson, and two other jurors described a theory that Molly Corbett was the “aggressor” by striking her husband first with the paving stone while he was asleep in the bed. The motion stated the theory violates the findings of the court that Molly Corbett was not the aggressor, as agreed by the prosecution, and that evidence at the trial did not support Molly Corbett being the aggressor.

The motion then stated Nancy Perez, another juror, provided a “less than candid” answer about her ability to serve on the jury. Early in the trial, when gruesome photos were shown of Jason Corbett’s autopsy, Perez left the room and almost vomited. The defense made a motion to remove Perez from the trial, but Perez indicated she became sick due to not having breakfast, and that she could continue in the trial.

But in an interview after the trial, the document indicated that Perez said she became ill due to the graphic nature of the photos, which the lawyers allege is inconsistent with what she said before.

On Aug. 21, the prosecution filed a motion to dismiss the claims of misconduct. The motion stated the defense did not present any competent evidence of “external” influence. The motions argued that several of the jurors’ statements included “I think,” “I feel,” and “I believe,” which are “internal” influences that relate to mental processes and thus inadmissible.

On Aug. 25, the defense filed a supplemental motion that included an affidavit from a person who witnessed a private conversation during jury deliberations and an affidavit from an alternate juror who claimed other jurors discussed the case prior to deliberation.

In her affidavit, Stacey Blue said that on Aug. 8, at approximately 5:15 p.m., she saw Aamland and juror Miriam Figueroa sitting in a Nissan vehicle. Blue said the two were having an “animated discussion” that lasted 10 to 15 minutes. In its response earlier this week, the prosecution says that this allegation is “wholly incompetent and irrelevant.”

Brian Graham, an alternate juror, said in his affidavit that during breaks, he overheard other jurors commenting on evidence or asking questions about evidence. He said that when this happened, another juror would remind everyone that the jury wasn’t allowed to discuss the case. On at least one occasion, Graham said a conversation related to evidence happened for two to three minutes, despite prior warnings.

The alternate juror also said that after the first closing argument, Aamland expressed his opinion about the prosecution’s argument. Graham said he disagreed with Aamland expressing his opinion and ended the conversation.

According to the Winston-Salem Journal, Freedman and Holton said they will appeal the decision to the N.C. Court of Appeals.

Ben Coley can be reached at (336) 249-3981, ext. 227 or at ben.coley@the-dispatch.com. Follow Ben on Twitter: @LexDispatchBC

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